Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-01-19
The Farmers Home.


In selecting the site for the house it
should be borne in mind that the
house is where you live, where you eat
and sleep; and ordinarily, taking one
year with another, you will spend
more time in and around the house
than any other portion of the farm.
The first point to be looked after is to
| secure good drainage. This is very
| important if you regard health as be.
ing Of any value.
Select the site for your house on the
principle that you expect to make it q
| nome as long as you live. 1t is not q
good plan to select q site or to build q
| house under the idea of only building
for the present. You are liable to make
| too many serious errors when YOU 90
to work thinking, 81 can get along
almost any way, I don't expect to
make this my home but g. short time,"
and IN consequence fail to take such
precautions as prudence would really
seem to dictate.
The health of yourself and family
should be first taken into coDsidera-
ton, remembering that you cannot
know the future, and while you may
| have your plans all laid to make g.
change in q short time, yet circum-
stances may arise by which you may
be compelled to spend long life in the
very house you are planning to leave
In short time.
Good drainage, with a free circula-
tion OF pure air, is the first necessity.
Do not build near stagnant water in
low marshy fields, where you are al
most certain to feel the influence Of
the malaria that will arise from them
at certain seasons of the year. You
want a high, dry location, easily
drained, away as far as possible from
all malarial influences. Then con-
venience should be looked after, not
only as to the work on the farm, but
also out to the public road, to town,
to church and to school. All these
should be fully considered as far as
possible, and a selection made
that will equalize the whole. Other
things being equal, it is hard
ly good plan to build the house
in one corner of the farm, especi-
ally If the farm be g. reasonably large
one. There is too much time lost 60
ing to and from work. You will b
obliged to 60 to and from your work
the greater portion of the year, travel
each way every day, and to have togo
an unnecessarily long distance entails
rather serious loss at the end of O.
year. Yet it is not always pleasant to
build any considerable distance away
from the public road. Your wife and
daughters must spend g. large portion
OF their time III or around the house,
and if it is placed in the middle Of the
farm, a considerable distancefrom the
road, it will have strong tendency to
make the house seem lonesome. When
it can be done without occasioning too
much Inconvenience, it will make the
home look more pleasant to have it
located reasonably near the public
road, SO at least q good view can be
had of it.
Then your children should go to
school, and in locating the house on
the farm, their interest should not be
overlooked. Give them all the op-
portunities you can and place your
house as near theschool house as you
can without losing sight Of the other
interests, equally, if not more inn
portant.
How and where you can locate the
rest OF your farm buildings should not
be forgotten. These must by all means
be located conveniently to the house.
Build for health, comfort and conven-
fence. Pay less regard to style than
either of these others. You may have
an elegant home so far as outward ap-
pearances go, and yet haveit situated
in an unhealthy place, have it located
and arranged so as to be inconvenient
to every part OF your work, and by
this means be q constant source of
discomfort. The best plan is TO suit
yourself and wife. If it does that,
make up your minds that it is no.
body else's business whether the house
suits them or not. You and your
family must live in it, and you should
build accordingly.
OF course, when you can have every
thing else to suit you, proper regard
for the look of the farm in locating
the house may add increased value to
the place; but health, comfort and
convenience should be first looked af-
ter, as they are of the most import
ance, not only in selecting the loca-
ton, but in building the house j.
Shepherd, in Prac teal Farmer.